The Co-operative Bank has started a consultation on a “proposed modelling restructure” that could lead to the loss of around 400 roles across the bank.
In an update, The Co-operative Bank said that this was equivalent to 12% of its workforce and it was part of a “series of changes” that were “essential for the delivery of the next phase of the strategic plan”.
The lender said: “The decision has not been made lightly, and the bank will continue to work closely with our trade union and to support impacted colleagues.”
The lender noted that, over the last three years, it had committed to a strategy to “simplify and transform the business with the aim of delivering long-term sustainable growth”.
This includes investing £100m into IT system re-platforming, which the company said was nearing completion.
“As the bank enters the next phase of its transformation plan, it will seek to leverage the benefit of this investment and will be taking steps to ensure we have the right resources and processes in place to deliver our customer and commercial objectives,” the bank said.
The firm recently migrated around 120,000 mortgage customers from Platform to its own brand in a “major milestone in its mortgage transformation programme”.
The Co-operative Bank also agreed to buy Sainsbury’s Bank’s mortgage portfolio in August and said it would insource mortgage operations from Capita.
The company was also rumoured to be in exclusive merger talks with Coventry Building Society at the tail end of last year.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.